The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has launched a new awareness campaign focused on diverse communities in flood-prone areas to ensure everyone understands what to do in a flood emergency.
SES Commissioner Carlene York said the campaign’s key messages included information on evacuation orders, driving through floodwater, listening to SES advice, and how to prepare an emergency ‘get ready to go’ kit.
“This campaign is really important to target locals in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley who speak languages other than English, and some of whom have experienced multiple floods in the past 18 months,” Commissioner York said.
“It’s great we now have tailored content in multiple languages so that it is as accessible and relevant as possible,” she said.
“This is just one of the steps we have taken to communicate how to prepare and keep safe during a flood.”
Welcoming the campaign, Minister for Flood Recovery, Steph Cooke said the new messaging included video content and covered social media, radio and multicultural community newspapers.
“The campaign has been developed in the six languages of Arabic, Cantonese, Farsi, Korean, Mandarin and Punjabi to help culturally and linguistically diverse communities around the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley understand what to do in the event of a flood,” Ms Cooke said.
“It’s important people in flood-prone areas understand SES advice so they’re aware of the dangers of severe weather events and are ready to respond when flooding does occur.”
Minister for Multiculturalism, Mark Coure said the campaign built on previous public information campaigns delivered to communities in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
“As a multicultural society, it’s crucial we provide clear and concise information about what they should do in an emergency, which ultimately helps them become more resilient,” Mr Coure said.
